Instructions for Authors and Presenters

Talk Presenters

We suggest that you bring your talk on your own laptop. You need to meet the chair of your session at the podium 10 minutes before the start of the session and check that the laptop projects correctly. You have 20 minutes allocated for your talk, including the time for questions and for the change over between speakers, so please aim for no more than 17 minutes for the presentation itself.

Spotlight Presenters

Spotlight presentations at NIPS are brief summaries of the context and main results of your paper with perhaps a mention of the novelty of the approach taken. Spotlights should enable people to judge if they wish to visit your poster and/or to read your paper. Thus, they should be simple, visual, and accessible to non-experts; speakers should not aim to communicate detailed technical aspects of the paper. The slides should be prepared in a large font (at least 16pt), and ideally with some appealing visual elements.

Each spotlight is allotted 3 minutes of time, including the time to switch between speakers. Thus, each speaker has approximately 2 minutes and 45 seconds of presentation time.

Each speaker is limited to 3 slides, in pdf format, landscape orientation, with no animation, and no movies. The slides must be submitted by November 28, through the CMT system, and cannot be changed after that date. The first slide should include the speaker's name and the paper title and full author list.

A very strict procedure is followed to maximize speaking time and to minimize transition time. Each spotlight session follows a talk. As soon as the speaker of this talk starts his/her concluding remarks, all spotlight presenters should start to line up along the front left side of the hall, in the order of their spotlights, and take the microphone when it is their turn to begin. A volunteer will be available to help the presenters line up in the right order. Spotlight presenters who are not present at the start of the spotlight session will lose their turn. In between speakers, the session chair will use the transition time to introduce the next speaker as well as the title. It is the responsibility of the presenter to introduce the co-authors. When you reach the podium, click on the next slide to bring up your presentation. All the spotlight talks for that session will have been concatenated into a single pdf by the Spotlight Chair beforehand, who will also provide the laptop used for all spotlights.

Video Recording of Talks and Spotlights

We will be recording all talks and spotlights with a view to making them available on the NIPS website. If you are willing to have your presentation made available online in this way, please have the presenting author sign the consent form. The video of your talk will not be viewable if you have not signed a consent form.

To sign a consent form:

At any stage (before or after NIPS) you may decide that you would prefer your presentation not to be made available on-line.

There will be a special issue of Machine Learning Video Abstracts devoted to NIPS 2014. All NIPS spotlight presenters are invited to contribute a spotlight presentation to this special issue.

Poster Presenters

Setup and Removal:

Please set up your poster on the designated board between 11:00am and 5:00pm for posters on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and between 11:00am and 2:00pm for posters on Thursday. To identify the location, look at the webpage for the appropriate day's poster session. Clicking on the title of your poster will bring up a page which specifies your poster number (e.g. Mon07, Tue34, Wed45).

Use the Poster Session Layout maps linked from the Conference Schedule webpage to find out the exact location of your poster board with assigned numbers. Assigned numbers for posters will be attached to the individual display boards in the Poster presentation area. You should find the display board corresponding to your number and attach your poster there. Please remember to bring poster pins.

Poster presenters must remove their posters by 10:00am on the day following their poster presentation. Posters remaining after 10:00am the following day will be discarded.

Each poster board is 4 feet (1.219m) high by 8 feet (2.438m) wide. Plan your poster to fit this space. Make sure you identify your poster near the top of the panel with its title and the authors' names. All typefaces and graphics on the poster should be large enough to be read comfortably from distances of four to five feet. A well-designed poster clearly states the main problem and contribution and guides the viewer through the presentation. Hardcopies of slides, or of the paper, make poor posters. A matte finish on your poster materials will give better visibility under the glare from the lights. You may want to have copies of your paper or poster available, along with other materials, to give to viewers.

Demonstration Presenters

Setup and Removal:

Demo Sessions will take place between 7:00 pm and 11:59 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Presenters may set up their Demos between 3:00pm and 6:00pm on the day of their presentations: if you need assistance, please let us know in advance and a student volunteer will help you. Demos must be removed immediately after the Demo Session. The Demo room is 230B, next to the poster sessions on the second level of the Palais des Congrès de Montréal/Convention and Exhibition Center. Maps will be available at the NIPS website and in the conference booklet.

Security:

The equipment in the Demo room will only be loosely monitored by the Demo chair and by NIPS Volunteers. Once equipment has been set up in the Demo Room, it may not be removed without the permission the Demo chair. Please note that neither the NIPS Foundation nor the hotel can assume responsibility for lost, stolen or damaged equipment, software, or other property. We strongly advise you not to leave your equipment unsupervised.

Poster Boards and Electric supply:

Each Demo will be provided with a poster board which will be placed either to the side or behind the Demo. Presenters can prepare an easily-viewable poster to use for talking points. It should show the Demo title, the names of the creators, and their affiliations. Poster material should be clearly legible at distance of 10 feet. The point of the poster is to illustrate your Demo's inner workings and attributes (with your verbal assistance). A URL reference is very helpful for people who are interested in obtaining more information. We emphasize that the poster is only for explanation - the Demo itself is primary and should stand by itself. One power bar, extension cord, and table will also be provided. Wired internet access is available upon request or additional AV needs, at a charge to you.

Being Available:

Presenters naturally like to look at the other Demos, but it is important to remember that your Demo (if you are the only presenter) should not be left unattended for any length of time.